Birth
by NotreDame
Summary: In Castle Wyvern, eggs are about to hatch. Set just after my fic "Responsibilities".
1. Chapter 1

Synopsis: in Castle Wyvern, the eggs are about to hatch.

All the characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of NotreDame. I disregard The Goliath Chronicles as invalid in the continuity.

Any kind of feedback is welcome and much appreciated. Thank you very much to everyone who wrote to me, especially to Samuel B. for his beta-reading.

_Birth_

_Previously, on Gargoyles: _

The toddler put the photo back on the bedstead and noticed that a drawer was not completely closed. He opened it and saw something shiny inside. Perhaps this was his present?

One minute later, Alex was back in his bedroom. It had been a funny evening but he was glad it was over.

"Lady in the sea"

"As you seem to have some kind of experience on gargoyles matters, I thought you could be interested in a special report" Alex's father carried on (to Mike Harker).

The sun rose on Avalon. (Arch) turned into stone and just had time to wonder how Katherine would react. Well, she would forgive him for leaving. Mothers always forgive you.

"My ex-love"

* * *

**Avalon**

Njörd, Nordic god of wind and sea, was the first to notice the boat that had just accosted. It was about twelve meters long and had several ranks of seats on its deck. There were two words painted on its side: "Bateaux parisiens". Puzzled, Njörd approached and had a better look.

There was a gargoyle in stone sleep kneeling on the deck. What had the gargoyles been doing? Where had they found this boat? It was not a fey's doing anyway: there was obviously iron in the chairs' structures. Better to tell someone about it.

One hour later, Arch broke out of his stone shell and blinked. There was so much light, how was it possible? And how came his tail was still painful? Hardly had he had time to ask himself these questions that a grey-haired woman hugged him. He sighed, relieved to see that he was back in Avalon and annoyed by the fact that someone was calling him "my egg" at that moment. That's mothers for you!

"Yes, Katherine, I'm all right…" he muttered.

"But where have ye been? I was so worried!"

"I was… having a walk around, nothing more."

"Do ye think we are stupid?" Guardian Tom interrupted. "Where have ye been and what are ye bringing back?"

"Oh, since when are you interested in what I do?" He glanced at a small fey who was silently standing there and had obviously awakened him. "Make me sleep again, my tail is aching!"

The princess pouted. She was sorry to see how immaturely her foster son was behaving but she was even sorrier to see how he was suffering. Her husband shook his head. "Ye're too gentle with him. Please leave us alone" he whispered. She nodded and left the room. The guardian of the eggs sat in front of Arch. "Now tell me what ye have been doing, young man."

"I… Katherine should thank me, I've just delivered her mail for Angela!"

"What?" Tom was about to ask how his estranged foster daughter was doing but he realized that this was obviously an attempt to change the subject. "So ye've been to… Manhattan?"

"Yes, sir."

"Without asking for permission?"

"I'm sure the Magus would have given me his permission, he was so better a father than you are!"

During his travels every hundred years, the guardian had visited many different countries and eras. He had had to take part in some wars (quite involuntarily), suffered from hunger, cold and misery and had been in deadly danger more than once. But sometimes he had the feeling that those hardships had been nothing compared to what you have to suffer when you have to raise a child. Especially a stubborn child like Arch.

"The Magus is not here right now and I am the one who is raising ye" he said firmly.

"Oh, let me laugh. You let Angela leave Avalon. Why?"

"Because…" he sighed. "She warned before leaving! Katherine was dead worried!"

"As if I were still an egg! I'm nearly thirty-nine, can't you see that?"

"Archangel" Tom continued, trying hard to remain calm and composed, "I know how old ye are but if you act like an egg, don't be surprised if I treat you like one!" He turned to the fey, who was tactfully looking through the window and pretending not to hear anything. "Nyx, could ye please make him sleep now?"

"Stop!" Arch nearly shouted. "What about the things I brought with me? I want my things right now!"

"Lord Oberon has confiscated the boat" Tom answered, hardly able to keep his calm. "He was offended, we had a hard time with him. Didn't ye think that ye could travel with something else? And as for the egg… it's in our old rookery."

Arch burst into an uncontrollable laughter. Thailog was not going to have this one, after all! The guardian watched him in dismay and nodded at the fey.

"Don't they ever grow up? Please, make him sleep now…"

* * *

**Manhattan, the 11th of February, 1998**

Lexington put the mouse aside and smiled at the young man who was standing just behind him. "You see? It gains time this way, and basically it amounts to the same thing."

"Thanks, Lex. I didn't know this method. Can you stay?"

"No, thanks. I have things to do."

Chris nodded. Even after their meeting in Halloween, they had carried on chatting on the internet. They had met a few times. The green gargoyle really loved the fact that there was another human he could talk to without risking to be killed.

But he hadn't told anybody in the clan about him. Well, they probably wouldn't mind. Even though Chris was gay. But perhaps they would mind if they knew that he and his human friend had done together the kind of things gargoyle generally never do before the mating ceremony.

Okay, there was no harm with it. Chris hadn't obliged him. And he was practically sure that Goliath and Elisa had already done it more than once so what was the problem?

Well, he was not in love with Chris and Chris was not in love with him. He had tried out of curiosity. It was good but doing it with someone he really loved would be probably different. The green gargoyle was satisfied with his life but sometimes he wished he had a little more. Soon Goliath and Elisa were going to be mated and happy. Broadway and Angela were already together, and so were Fox and Xanatos, and Brooklyn and Maya… well, these two ones were both in deep denial, refusing to admit that they were attracted to each other. But one day, they may get together too. And he would remain the only unmated gargoyle in the clan. There were already not many gargoyles in the world so how many of them were gay?

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" Chris asked again. Lex knew what "staying" meant and shook his head.

"No, thanks. I have to baby-sit."

Lex was dying to tell his friend that the eggs were going to hatch this night. But he had the feeling this was really a private affair. Having a soft spot for babies, he was really looking forward to see them at last. He left to the Eyrie building, smiling inwardly and blessing the gargoyle ways: the eggs belonged to the whole clan so no one was going to presume that he would be a bad rookery father, just because mating with a female was not among his desires.

* * *

**A street in New York City**

Elisa left the precinct and hurried to her car. It was the eggs hatching night. She was feeling more and more impatient, just as if the eggs were their own. Well, in a way, they were their own. She had managed to negotiate with Maria Chavez, telling her that there was a 'family celebration'. Either Captain Chavez had miraculously believed her, or she had guessed that it was something important anyway. And now she had her night off.

Well, nearly.

A few nights earlier, Goliath had come to her home, looking quite angry, and had explained her about Xanatos' 'last idea'. The multi-billionaire had contacted a journalist and he was going to attend the hatching. Of course he hadn't asked anybody for their opinion. Hudson had disapproved the initiative, it didn't seem in keeping with the gargoyle ways. The Trio were sceptical, Angela didn't seem too reluctant and Maya had been deeply shocked by the idea. The worse thing was, nobody knew who was said journalist .

Elisa had hardly managed to calm down her mate-to-be. She had doubts about the chosen person. After a few hours searching her own apartment, she had finally found Mr Harker's phone number (she couldn't even remember his name) under the cat's basket, and phoned him. He had acknowledged about the report and had been very polite but he didn't seem too willing to renounce to his 'scoop'. He had finally told her that he would come and 'talk to the gargoyle, if they accepted it' and then they would decide whether they wanted to allow him into their rookery or not.

Elisa had accepted the offer but she already knew Goliath's answer. It happened that "Mike" had a problem with his car and his photograph didn't have a driving licence. So she was going to drop them at the Eyrie Building, supposedly to help them. In fact she wanted to take this last chance to convince them not to make this report. You never know. It could work.

* * *

**A room in Castle Wyvern**

"_I wish I could understand you but I can't. I know you…"_

Angela put her pen and paper aside. The eggs were going to hatch and she was going to have rookery children (or clan siblings, she wasn't sure) so she wanted to make peace with her own mother, and she had begun to write her a letter. But she couldn't find the right words. The thing was, she was still unable to forgive Demona for having tried to kill Elisa. But could she be a good rookery mother if she hated the gargoyle who had mothered her?

_Let's do it_ she thought. _Katherine always told me that a good person is able to forgive. Now I miss my princess. I wish she were with me now. She would know what to do._ The lavender gargess had a sudden surge of affection for the woman who had raised her. She had been her real mother, when she was thinking of it. Her rookery mother.

"_I'd like to talk to you because I don't want to hate you forever and if I had  
to anyway, I'd prefer it to be for a good reason..."_

No, she couldn't write that! Why did it have to be so complicated?

Angela sighed and had a look at Birch, who was lying on the floor, at her feet. She bent down and took the little girl in her arms. What a cute little thing! Suddenly, Angela wondered how Princess Katherine had felt at her own hatching. Suddenly having to raise thirty-six children she was not related to, how strange it must have been!

Well, she was going to help raising three babies she was not related to. Like mother, like daughter.

* * *

**A street**

For the umpteenth time, Lenny checked that his camera was working by photographing the rainy street and his colleague Mike, who was yawning and holding a bunch of white roses. The journalist was feeling more and more out-of-place and nearly wished Detective Maza would forget about him. Unfortunately (or fortunately), a red Fairlane finally came to a halt in front of them. Lenny waived at the driver childishly.

Elisa greeted them as politely as she could. Were it not for those two nutcases, she would already be at Goliath's side, waiting for the eggs to hatch! She made them enter and frowned at the roses.

"Flowers?" she asked.

"It's for the mother-to-be" Mike explained.

"Flowers. Yes. That's the right thing to give when you're intruding in somebody's private life."

Lenny didn't know the meaning of the word 'sarcasm' and took the word as a compliment but Mike blushed slightly. Originally, he had not even bought the flowers for the gargoyles: he had a date with Emily the night before but she had not come and throwing the roses away seemed to be a waste. But now he had the feeling that he was not doing the right thing. Well, after all, he was just a normal citizen who needed to pay his loans. Could anybody blame him for trying to gain some money?

"Mike always has great ideas" Lenny interrupted. "Don't you, Mike?"

The journalist sighed inwardly. "Detective Maza, I know we may…"

He never finished his sentence. A car tore to them and Elisa just had the time to avoid it. There was a horrible sound and when the detective looked back, all that she saw was a multiple crash. Breathing heavily, her heart pounding, Elisa stopped her car. She couldn't help thinking of the car accident that had made her loose her baby. The journalist got worried. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yes…" she got a grip on herself while Lenny was leaving the car. "Just a bad memory."

"Good." Mike left the car and went to Lenny, who was photographing the crash. Apparently, few people were hurt. The journalist started explaining his colleague when you are in front of this kind of accidents, taking photos was not the priority, while Elisa was calling the precinct. She refrained herself from saying "I am locked between a car crash, Mr Boring, Mr Stupid and a bunch of roses, please send me help before I get mad" and left the car in turn.

Then someone pushed her hard on the side and she fell on the pavement. There was the sound of brakes and she realised that had someone not done that, another car would have run on her. She looked away and saw a brown shape scaling a wall. But… she blinked. It looked like it had no legs at all. It was neither a gargoyle, nor a mutate.

Without thinking, she ran for it. A few minutes later, she was on the top of the building, looking around her. She took her gun: if this creature was one of Sevarius's inventions, she had better be cautious. "Hey?" she asked. "Is anyone here?"

"Don't move" a male voice said gently.

She froze. He was just behind her, she could see his shadow. "Why did you save me?" she asked cautiously.

"That's what gargoyles are supposed to do, aren't they?"

"You're a gargoyle?" She wanted to turn back but he had grabbed her wrists and was holding her firmly. The strangest thing was, there was no sign of aggressiveness from him. Apparently, he just didn't want her to see his face.

"Yes. And you are going to go down to your car and to go to the place where you are about to go, OK? I have to leave now."

"You must come with me! I know other gargoyles, you must meet them."

The gargoyle laughed. "I know, Elisa. Well, you'll see me at the castle! I love you." And then he let go of Elisa's wrists. When she turned back, all that she saw was a long beige feather on the ground. Slowly, she took it and turned it in her hands. Jalapeña, how did that gargoyle know her name or where she was about to go? Why didn't he want her to see his face? He was probably a bit insane but… had she dreamed?

Puzzled, she went down to her Fairlane.

* * *

**Castle Wyvern, atop the Eyrie building**

In a corridor, Brooklyn and Broadway were walking after Bronx, who was searching for a baby-bottle. Alex still had not given up teleporting them anywhere and they sometimes had to search several rooms before finding one.

They finally found it in a bathroom, on the top shelf of a closet.

"Good" Broadway sighed. "Imagine, if we had lost it!"

"Oh, yeah. It would have triggered the end of the world" his brother said sarcastically.

"Hey, you're not happy? Our eggs are going to hatch!"

"And it will be so great when we'll have all those half-pints crying at the same time so we won't be able to watch TV or anything!"

The aqua gargoyle guessed there was something wrong but he preferred not to insist. He didn't want to argue with his brother, especially on that very night. Perhaps Brooklyn was just a bit jealous of all the attention the eggs caught.

He was partly right. The red gargoyle was bit jealous, yes, but most of all, he missed the Trio. They had been very close friends ever since they were hatchlings and their new life in New York City had only put them closer. Now they were still friends but it was definitely not the same again. Broadway was spending more time with Angela, and Lexington with Alex. The beaked gargoyle knew he couldn't blame his brothers for having a mate or a liking for children but sometimes he really missed the past.

Brooklyn realized that he was alone: his brother had apparently left the room. He went out too, walked randomly in the corridors and opened a door. Maya was sitting with her back on him. Judging by the position of her arms, she was breast-feeding Birch. She jumped when she heard him. "Is there a problem?"

He sighed inwardly and entered the room. Talking to her back was not particularly enjoyable but he knew she hated being watched when she was nursing the baby. "Always optimistic, I see? No, there's no problem."

"You wanted to be alone?" she suggested. "Wait, we have nearly finished."

"Hey, you're not going to run away from this room just because I came in, are you?"

There was an embarrassing silence. Then the Mayan gargoyle shook her head.

"No, I'm not going to run away. I just though… well, some gargoyles prefer to be alone when… I mean, eggs hatching are a big change, I knew a hatchling who couldn't stand… I mean, I don't mistake you for a hatchling, but…" She blushed furiously and patted the silver baby on her back, sounding so embarrassed that the beaked gargoyle couldn't help smiling. "I…"

"Need some help?" Brooklyn asked to change the subject, hoping for a negative answer.

"No, thanks" she said while lacing the top of her tunic back. "Hey, stop doing that!"

"What?"

"I'm talking to this little monster" she laughed, taking the baby on her lap again. The beaked gargoyle moved to have a better look. It was a cute sight. He thought with an unexpected twinge in the heart that Maya was more interested in the eggs than in him. _Oh, I can't blame her for loving children..._

"We'll see them in half-an-hour" she said more to herself than to him. "Oh, I'm so nervous."

"It will be okay, don't worry. You'll be a great mother."

"Do you really think so?" she asked, blushing again.

"I'm sure of it."

"Thanks."

There was an embarrassing silence. Then Birch started chewing the strings of her rookery mother's tunic. She laughed. "Don't eat this! You already…"

And somewhere in the castle, Bronx started howling.

Goliath came back from patrol and checked the hour. Elisa was late. It was only by twenty minutes but it was enough to make him worry. He tried to reassure himself by thinking she had probably managed to convince the journalists to abandon the report, with her you never knew what could happen.

The castle seemed to be deserted. Only Lexington was checking his new camera (he had decided to photograph the hatching). He hardly nodded when he saw him. Where was everyone?

Then the two gargoyles heard Bronx howling. The sound was coming from the rookery. Without thinking, the gargoyles ran for it.

The door banged open (that is, it did just after Lexington shut down the alarm system). The gargoyles entered the room and saw Hudson and Bronx who were both staring at one of the eggs. The shell was starting to crackle.

"What's happening?" Broadway asked while entering too, closely followed by Angela. They were reading in the library when they had heard Bronx. Nobody answered but he didn't need an answer. It was the second child of the clan that was now hatching.

Everyone was staring at the egg, except Goliath, who turned his head when he heard the door opening again. But it was not Elisa. It was Brooklyn, followed by Maya, who was holding Birch. Where was she? Her children were coming to the world, why couldn't she be present?

The shell crackled and a tiny green hand appeared. It grabbed Hudson's finger when he approached his hand. The brown gargoyle put away pieces of shell, revealing a vegetal green baby, covered in slime, with small, curved horns and a snake-like lover body. It started crying. The former leader held it awkwardly. He had been trained to be a leader, not a rookery keeper, so what should he do?

Without thinking, Maya gave Birch to the closest person, that was Brooklyn, grabbed a towel and walked to Hudson. "Give it to me" she said sharply, giving an order to someone for the first time in her life. She took the baby cautiously and wiped it as if it was the most precious thing in the world. "It's a male" she said with a trembling voice. "Healthy. Beautiful. Oh…" And tears started running down her face.

"May I?" Lex asked, putting his camera aside and taking Birch from Brooklyn's hands. The beaked gargoyle sighed with relief. He too felt quite clumsy with a baby in his arms. The camera stayed forgotten on a table. This moment would have deserved a photo to be taken but nobody was thinking of it.

If someone had had a look into the corridor at that very moment, he or she would have seen Xanatos standing in his nightgown, arms crossed. The multi-billionaire had been awakened by Bronx and had guessed what was going on. Better not entering the rookery at that very moment. He couldn't help thinking of the night Alex was born. This event had changed his life, when he was thinking of it. It's amazing how a child can make you realize things you didn't even know about yourself…

* * *

**Same building, different place**

Elisa burst out of the lift, followed by the two journalists, who were panting. Mike was still clutching what was left of his roses: he had lost the half of his bunch during the travel. Mike managed to follow the detective to the door of the rookery but Lenny, hampered by his corpulence, was trailing way behind them.

At the door, Elisa stopped and turned to the journalist. "Please, Mr Harker" she said. "Wait a minute, I'll tell them about you. Okay?"

"Okay. And..." he didn't know what to say. "Please call me Mike."

She nodded, wondering why calling this man by his first name would change anything about the situation. A minute passed. He hesitated and then opened the door slightly to have a look.

The detective was talking to the leader of the clan, who was holding a baby in his arms. He handed the tiny being to her and Mike was sure he saw her wiping tears away. A mad idea went through his mind. A human and a gargoyle... TOGETHER? No, it was impossible.

Then the human handed the baby cautiously to another person. Mike was troubled. This was too intimate, too private. He couldn't bother them just now.

Michael took the best-looking rose in his bunch and put it against the door. He left, went back and saw Lenny who was photographing David Xanatos. "Lenny, we're goin back home" he said.

"Hey, pal, we haven't done the report yet!"

"No report, Lenny. I... have forgotten my tape recorder and... flashes on new-borns eyes is bad so no photos. We go home."

"Oh..." The photograph was disappointed. "So can I have your roses?"

Mike agreed, wondering what his colleague was going to do with flowers. At that point, David Xanatos interrupted them. "I don't want to interfere in your private affair but I guess the night has been interesting?"

"Yes..." Mike answered, making a wish mentally (it was the first time he was talking to a multi-billionaire in his pyjamas). "Now may we leave? I... have things to do."

"You told me yesterday that the only thing you could do at home was washing your dishes and answering your mommy's stupid phone calls!" Lenny protested while his colleague was making a mental note to kill him slowly later. He tried hard to find something to say.

"Well, my _mommy _is at my home, washing my dishes, I have to go and help her" he finally said lamely, knowing perfectly well that the joke was not funny. And suddenly, without thinking, he grabbed the half of what was left of the bunch of roses and left.

Lenny put a wry face. "I apologise for my colleague, he talks without thinking" he said. "And he took my roses!"

"Weren't they his?"

"He gave them to me!"

"Well, there were only flowers" Xanatos concluded. "I may have something more interesting for you. I hear you're a good photographer?"

"Yes!" Lenny beamed, opening his briefcase. "Do you want to see some?"

Xanatos agreed, trying to hide the fact that he was annoyed. But one photo attracted his attention. "Where did you get this one?" he asked.

"Oh, someone made me a joke. He borrowed my camera and took a shot of a stupid message. A man called doggy telling his friend Betty that he couldn't help her. I would get mad if this happened all the time!"

Xanatos had a better look. "_Dear Beth, I know what happened to you…"_ Yes, this message looked like a joke but the formula included seemed serious. Beth could be Beth Maza. And Coyote and Asclepios were probably codenames. The question was how and why the journalists were involved with this message but just now there was something more important. "May I borrow you this one?" he asked.

"Take it! Do you like photography?"

Xanatos finally managed to get rid of the photograph and read the text again. "_Don't try to join me on Avalon, Beth…_" This could be code again. Well, he would find a way to get what he wanted. He always did.

* * *

**The rookery**

"The boy seems to have your eyes, I think" Angela said to Maya. "He may be your biological child."

"Impossible, my mate was blue-skinned. The egg I laid was the smallest in the rookery anyway" the Mayan gargess answered very fast, still ashamed of having laid such a ridiculous egg. Goliath's daughter understood and tried to change the subject.

"I wonder if the next one will be a boy or a girl."

"I bet on a boy" Brooklyn said immediately.

"I bet on a girl" Broadway added.

"A beast" said Lexington. "Wait, what are we betting?"

"If I win, you let me use your computer for a week" Brooklyn suggested. "And Broadway goes on a diet."

The aqua gargoyle and his web-winged brother looked at each other. Broadway was about to retort but Lexington whispered something at his ear. The aqua gargoyle shook his head. "We can't do that" he whispered. "It's not respectful!"

"It's just a joke, we won't make him do that."

Broadway nodded reluctantly. The small gargoyle took his beaked brother by the arm and pulled him out of the rookery, hardly noticing the white rose that was resting against the door. "Brooklyn, if I or Broadway win, you ask Maya out."

The red gargoyle opened wide eyes but he didn't have time to answer. Bronx started howling again and the two brothers entered the room again. The shell of the last egg was crackling. A tiny, pinkish hand appeared. And then another one.

And then another one.

Puzzled, Goliath, who was the closest to the egg, put away pieces of shell and discovered not one, but two babies, one was a soft pink and the other, reddish brown. He stepped back, astonished. Twins. It hardly ever happened. Everyone was stunned in the rookery: for a nearly extinguished species, a double-birth seemed like a miracle.

Towels were passed in silence. Brooklyn was the first to get his senses back. "Boys or girls?" he asked in a toneless voice.

"The pink one is a lass, the brown one is a lad" Hudson answered. "We have a very balanced rookery."

The red gargoyle sighed with relief. Nobody has won the bet.

Elisa didn't say anything. She was holding the brown newhatched and wondering how things could get more perfect. Well, Demona could give them their stolen egg back but… they'll find a way to have it later. She kissed the baby on the forehead. Like his green brother and his twin sister, he had a snake-like lower body. She remembered the gargoyle she had met a few hours earlier. "_You'll see me at the castle. I love you_." And then there was nothing left of him, only a feather on the ground…

"Please, Maya" she asked suddenly, "did some gargoyles in your clan have feathered wings?"

"Lots of them" the red gargess answered, puzzled. "The feathers come about a year after the hatching. Why?"

"Nothing" she said, wiping a tear away. "I just wanted to know."

* * *

**New York City, 2076**

In a room of the Eyrie Building, a man with a blue tattoo around his eye was writing a letter. A red-haired toddler was watching him, cuddled on the lap of a silver-skinned female gargoyle in her late thirties. The man put the letter in the envelope, closed it and gave it to the child. "Listen to me, Alex" he said. You're going to go back home and to put this letter in a safe place. You'll read it when you are eighteen. Do you understand?"

The child nodded. At that point, a ball of fire appeared. Next second, a reddish brown gargoyle with feathered wings was standing in the room. The silver gargoyle got up and hugged him. "At last you're back!" she said.

"Hey, what could happen?"

"I want to go back home" the toddler complained. The brown gargoyle smiled and gave him the phoenix gate. Grown-up Alex knelt down in front of him. "Concentrate. Think of your grandfather's bedroom. Go back to this place." The child concentrated and teleported back to his time.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" the silver gargoyle asked.

"Don't worry, Birch" the man said. "I know it will work because it has worked already. When I was about three, I lurked into my grandfather's bedroom, found the Phoenix Gate and found myself decades later. And I found my older self and he… I mean, I told me to write this letter…"

"You told us a dozen times" Birch said, laughing. "A gargoyle has to go back in time to meet Elisa Maza and so on…" Her face became serious again and she turned to her rookery brother. "Did you see her?"

"Just like she wrote in her diary. I saved her from this car about to run on her. She suspected it was me and so on." The brown gargoyle looked sad suddenly. "It was weird, you know, seeing her so young, and I couldn't tell her anything because I hadn't told her anything… Why do human age and die so fast?"

"I miss her too" his sister whispered. She turned to Alex Xanatos. "Are you sure you won't… you didn't forget about this letter?"

"I secured it with a spell, sister. I will… I have read it anyway. Time travel is funny this way."

Somewhere in the courtyard, children started shouting. The silver gargoyle sighed. "Another game that goes mad and everyone else is on patrol. Those hatchlings…" The two gargoyles exchanged a knowing smile and went out to calm down the playing.

_To be continued…_

* * *

Author's note: I know: I cheated by making Alex use his fey powers to activate the Phoenix Gate. Magics shouldn't be mixed, all gargoyle fans know it but I just didn't find another way to make my plot. Shame on me. Well, I'm waiting for your flamers. :-) 


	2. Help me, daughter

Synopsis: Demona wants to go and get the egg on Avalon.

All the characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of NotreDame. I disregard The Goliath Chronicles as invalid in the continuity.

Any kind of feedback is welcome and much appreciated. Thank you very much to everyone who wrote to me, especially to Samuel B. for his beta-reading.

_Help me, daughter_

_Previously, on Gargoyles: _

_Demona:_ "Arch, you're going to bring me one of those eggs."

"Kidnapper"

"_I wish I could understand you but I cannot. I know you…"_

Angela put her pen and paper aside. The eggs were going to hatch and she was going to have rookery children (or clan siblings, she wasn't sure) so she wanted to make peace with her own mother, and she had begun to write her a letter. But she couldn't find the right words. The thing was, she was still unable to forgive Demona for having tried to kill Elisa. But how could she be a good rookery mother if she hated the gargoyle who was her mother?

"_I would like to talk to you because I do not wish to hate you forever and if I had  
to anyway, I would prefer that it be for a good reason..."_

No, she couldn't write that! Why did it have to be so complicated?

"Birth"

* * *

**Paris **

Demona had decided to leave Paris. There was no good in staying here and she missed Arch's presence. Perhaps if she went back to New York City, she would be able to have a word with her daughter from time to time. Yes. There were no gargoyles where she was now and anyway, as humans would always be humans, it couldn't be worse in Manhattan.

She had tried hard to localize Arch and the egg but doing it alone seemed impossible. She had considered kidnapping a human and making the human assist her in her magical operation but it just seemed impossible. Anyway, the boy was most probably in Avalon now. She had searched throughout the _Grimorum Novum_ but had been unable to find anything that could allow her to join the magical island. Pity.

But she had another idea…

* * *

**Manhattan, the rooftops**

It was a normal night for the clan. Hudson had decided to stay and attend the eggs with Bronx, the Trio were watching a movie, going back to their old friendship, and Goliath and Elisa were cooing somewhere. On a rooftop, Angela and Maya were having a talk. The lavender gargess was teasing her adoptive sister about her 'friendship' with the beaked gargoyle.

"Angela" repeated Maya, blushing again. "What could there be? I like him but… well… for one point, he's younger than me!"

"In fact, he hatched centuries before you," Angela corrected. "And there is also an age difference between two of my foster parents, and they are very happy together!"

"And I was already mated once."

"So was Goliath."

"Yes." The Mayan gargoyle tried to change the subject. "Not with the right person. But… you know… I wonder if Oak is not about to have his first tooth."

"What does that have to do with your good friend Brooklyn?"

"Couldn't we talk about something else?" Maya begged

She froze while saying this sentence. She had been raised in a dark forest, where natural selection had privileged individuals who could rely on their ears and smell rather than on their eyes, and she could hear someone breathing behind them. Slowly, she turned her head. There was a female gargoyle watching them. She looked very much like Angela, except that she was older and had a different coloring. A weapon was shining in her hands.

The red gargoyle felt her heart beat faster. She had been told so many horrible stories about this Demona that being around her completely terrified her. Angela turned her head too and saw her mother. A long silence ensued.

"Hello," the daughter finally said.

"Hello," the mother answered.

"It's a good thing that you're here; I wanted to talk to you."

"So did I. I have a favour to ask of you."

"I'm not sure I want to help you. Demona, I know what you did to Elisa."

_Of course_ Demona thought. _There is that absurd affection my daughter has for that human. I should have remembered it. _Sighing, she put her gun aside and walked to Angela. "I never wanted to hurt you" she said.

"You did."

"Let's forget…"

"Forget? How could I?"

_I won't manage to anything this way_ Demona thought again. _Let's present the things otherwise_. "I know where the egg is and I want you to help me retrieve it."

"What?" Angela and Maya exchanged a surprised look. "Is the egg in a safe place?" the Mayan gargoyle asked out of motherly instinct.

"Wait, sister, this may be a trap," Angela warned her.

"It is NOT a trap." Demona retorted.

"How can I be sure of it?" Angela was about to tell Maya to go and get the others. Demona had a sudden idea.

"Let's go to Avalon together. You'll see I'm not trying to trick you. We go to Avalon, we get the egg and we come back." _And I find a way to keep the egg for me._

"This may take days," Angela objected.

"We must do it, for the sake of the egg!" And she gestured at Maya. That girl didn't look very clever but it could be enough to warn Goliath and the others if they let her stay in Manhattan. "She must come with us."

The Mayan gargoyle opened wide eyes. What was going on? Could they leave like that, without warning anybody?

"I don't think… I mean, the eggs here need at least one mother!" she stuttered

"Good," Angela said, taking her adoptive sister by the shoulders. "Listen, there's nothing serious going on. You are not going to tell Goliath or anybody. They are male, they wouldn't understand. If they ask you were I am, tell them I just came late and roosted on a roof, okay?" She winked several times while saying so.

Maya nodded, deeply hurt. Nothing serious? Did her sister think she was completely stupid? A tear ran down her cheek while she was watching the two other gargoyles gliding away.

Nothing serious? No, Angela had just been acting too weird. It was as if she wanted to tell her something. Did she want her to report Goliath what had just happened? That was the problem with clever people: either they took for granted that you were as intelligent as them, or they treated you like babies. _Nothing serious, don't tell Goliath…_

The Mayan gargess tried to remember where Elisa's home was located.

* * *

**Elisa's apartment**

Elisa's bed was too narrow for a human and a seven-feet-tall gargoyle. They generally had fun on a blanket spread on the floor. Now they were lying side by side, her head resting on his arm, nearly dozing.

Someone knocked at the window of the next room. Elisa sighed. "Jalapeña, what do they want?" She put a nightgown on, left the room and opened the window. Maya apologized for disturbing. She looked very troubled but she often looked this way.

"It happened that… well, I didn't want to disturb you… hello, Goliath… Angela and I…"

"Is there a problem with the eggs?"

"No, but… I'm sorry, I'm very sorry, I hope it's not serious…"

"What is serious?" the lavender gargoyle asked.

"Angela just left with Demona."

"What?" Elisa and Goliath asked at the same time.

"To Avalon. Demona said the egg was on the island. Angela told me not to warn you but she looked as if she meant the contrary. I'm sorry."

Goliath nodded. "Stop apologizing. You were right to tell me. Go to the castle and tell Brooklyn he'll be in charge until I am back from Avalon."

"Oh, and please tell the boys to take care of my cat," Elisa added. Maya agreed and left. Goliath frowned at his mate.

"To take care of your cat?"

"Yes. I'm not going to bring Cagney with us on Avalon" she said while starting to get dressed.

"You're not going to come with me on Avalon," Goliath retorted. "Demona will be there, too. I don't want her to try to kill you again."

"Big guy, she will ALWAYS try to kill me, wherever I am. Anyway, I remember the incantation very well so either we go together, or we go separately."

"You're NOT coming, my love. And it is not only about you."

Elisa stopped lacing her shoes. Not only about her? But…

"Angela?" she asked.

"Yes. I found a letter she was apparently intending to send Demona. She still dwells about her parentage and yet she cannot forget what Demona has done to you. I'm afraid if she sees the two of you together, whatever could happen would be too much for her."

The raven-haired detective thought about. She hadn't thought about it that way. Yes, she was dying to see the gargoyle who had nearly killed her face-to-face but was it more important that sparing her daughter-in-law? And anyway, it was unlikely that Demona would attack anybody on Avalon, with all the young gargoyles watching her.

"Go without me," she finally said. "That's not how I had imagined my honeymoon but I can do with it. We'll make up lost time later."

They kissed once again and he glided away into the night.

* * *

**The shores of Avalon**

"Vocate venti fortunate ex rege Oberonis et hic navis flugem regate ad orae Avalonis."

The small skiff berthed on the beach. The immortal gargoyle couldn't help looking around her. So this was the place where she had already met her rookery children once. Pity that she couldn't remember them…

Then Angela was knocked down by a yellow gargoyle beast who started licking her face excitedly. She laughed. "Yes! I missed you too, Boudicca. Now can you let me go to my feet?"

The red-haired gargoyle stretched a hand out to pat the yellow beast but the latter stepped back and growled. Angela tried to calm her down. "It's all right, Boudicca. She's… a friend."

"Angela!" a masculine voice shouted. The lavender gargess turned around and saw her brother Gabriel landing in front of her. They hugged. Demona moved to have a better look. The boy looked familiar. She thought hard and remembered a gargoyle who was Goliath's best friend, back in Scotland. She had seen his broken stone form after the massacre of Castle Wyvern. She felt the sharp pain of envy: Angela could still hug her brother while her own rookery siblings had been murdered centuries ago. This was quite unfair.

Then she realized that the soul of this boy's rookery father had been transferred into Coldstone. She secretly hoped Gabriel would never find out.

"Why have you returned?" he asked happily while stepping back to have a better look at his rookery sister. "Did…" He interrupted himself and frowned when he noticed Demona. He could remember very well the night she and Macbeth had attacked the castle and it was not a good memory.

Angela decided to take a risk. After all, her mother had been under a spell when she had attacked the Avalon clan, everyone knew it. And nobody on the island knew very much about her life in the outside world. Presenting her as a friend or at least not as an enemy would avoid tensions and she could always claim the egg for her clan later.

"Gabriel, this is Demona. Demona, Gabriel. We are here for…"

"Archangel," Demona completed. "It happened that he apparently left to this place with an endangered gargoyle egg."

"Arch came here recently with an egg" Gabriel answered, puzzled. "He's… like he has always been; we have been unable to make him tell him anything about how he had found the egg."

"It's mine" Demona lied. Angela glared at her and she patted her daughter on the shoulder. "Don't look so shocked, this is about your sibling."

"You mean that you laid this egg?" the leader of the Avalon clan asked.

"Of course! Otherwise, why would I claim it?"

"Because it hatched recently. And there is not much of a resemblance."

"The father was a Guatemalan gargoyle", she lied. "Killed by humans in a massacre. (it was true again) Can I see my child, at least?"

Gabriel shrugged and decided to take his sister and his 'mother' to Castle Avalon. "Good to see you again" he said to Angela. "Did you have a good time in Manhattan?"

* * *

**Avalon Castle**

Since his return, Arch had been locked in the Magus' former bedroom. This was supposed to be a punishment but he quite enjoyed the place. The Magus had always been his favourite foster parent, after all. He remembered the times he hid in his room, listening to stories. Once his 'father' had told him the story of a man who was in love with a woman. The woman did not love him: she was already in love with another person. Arch had guessed who these three people really were but the Magus had never told him. He was sorry for him but at the same time, he really enjoyed listening to him. He shared his sorrows and he was the only hatchling in the clan to do so. Arch was sure no one had ever cared for the Magus as much as him and now that he was dead, he felt deprived of a part of him, as if there was a special link between him and his dead father.

But sometimes, here, in this tiny room, he had a strange feeling. He had sworn once that he would always be the kind of son the Magus wanted. But sometimes he had the feeling he didn't make things right, and he felt guilty about it. Like the previous evening when he had awoken from a strange dream. In this dream, he was alone in a dark place with an unknown and very handsome male gargoyle. They were playing the draughts. And then the boy had said "let's play another game" and had started kissing him on the mouth. Arch knew it was only a dream but the thing that troubled him was the fact that when he awakened, he was feeling blissfully happy, just as if kissing someone the same gender was perfectly normal.

Arch took a fairy tale book on a shelf and tried to read but the memories were becoming painful. His father used to tell him things like "I will be the masters of ceremonies at your wedding." He had always wanted him to be normal, that is to say to marry a female one day. And Arch wanted to be normal, too. He KNEW he was normal and it was not only a desire to please his dead foster father. So why had he been having that abnormal dream?

Someone knocked at his door and his brother Edward entered the room. "Come, we have visitors" he said.

"I'm not coming; I don't want to."

"Don't be such a hatchling, Katherine told me the detention is over."

"Oh, if she treats me like a hatchling, I'm going to act like a hatchling! 'Arch, do this, Arch, don't do that!' Who does she think she is?"

Edward didn't answer. He looked around. The dark, naked walls, the Spartan furniture and the lack of windows made this place look like the dungeon it had been once. "Do you enjoy been here?" he asked.

Arch generally liked Edward but just now, he was feeling angry at his brother, good boy Edward who was currently courting one of his rookery sister and would probably marry her one day. "Better than being with people like you."

Edward was patient but proud. "Well, I don't want to bother you any more. I'll tell Angela you prefer being locked in a dungeon than seeing your siblings. Have a good night." And he left, leaving the door open.

Puzzled, Arch counted to thirty and left the room.

* * *

_I remember when she asked for us to be thrown out of the dining-room of_ our _castle. We had just saved her peoples' lives and she called us beasts, animals. I never forgot. Now she's hugging my very own daughter in front of me. And my daughter is hugging her back. This looks like a nightmare. I must remain calm and do as if all this was perfectly normal…_

Demona was apparently calm but a nervous twitch was distorting the corner of her mouth from time to time. Half of the eggs had come to this room to watch the reunion (the other half were outside, training). Even a few fey had come, even though this room had been granted to the clan by Oberon, and only humans and gargoyles were officially allowed to enter it. Demona was studying Katherine's face. She could still recognize the features of the aggressive teenager who had stolen her children away, in spite of the wrinkles and the grey hair. _She's old, she'll die one day, I'll be young forever and… how unfair! Youth doesn't replace love. What could I do?_

"I have so many things to tell you," Angela whispered in her foster mother's ear. She was about to ask her about the life with the fey, the mating ceremonies and everything she had read in her letter but she suddenly remembered why she was here. "Has Arch come back from Manhattan?"

"He was in Manhattan? We have been unable te make him explain exactly what happened te him," the princess deplored.

"And the egg?" Demona asked sharply. "He came with a gargoyle egg, didn't he?"

Katherine pretended not to have heard the hint of aggression in her voice. "Yes. The egg is hatched, it's in our rookery."

"Male or female?" Angela asked.

"Male. Do you want to see it?"

Angela and Demona agreed at the same time. They were lead into a small room. The hatchling was resting on a young, beige-skinned gargess's lap. She opened wide eyes when seeing her rookery sister. "Angela?" How nice to see you!"

"Nice to see you too, Isobel" her sister answered, hugging her. Demona felt troubled once again. The girl looked so much like one of her own sisters that it was like seeing her again. A mad idea went through her head. If she had taken other decisions in 994, maybe she would have seen her children grow up, after all. Quickly, she dismissed that idea from her mind.

Then she noticed the hatchling and her smile froze. Gabriel looked at her. "Are you really sure that the egg is yours?" he asked sarcastically.

* * *

**The beach**

Goliath looked around him. This was Avalon, indeed, and his daughter and his former mate were nowhere to be seen. Could it be a trap from Demona? A way to make their daughter leave New York while she was implementing one of her plots? He wondered if he had been right to leave.

He had to carry on, anyway. Maybe he could convince the Avalonians to lock his former mate somewhere. But how? This was going to be tricky. He was sure of only one thing: bringing the egg back to Manhattan would be probably the best option, leaving it in Avalon in custody to Princess Katherine would be acceptable. Letting Demona take the egg with her was the worst thing that could happen.

The place was decidedly deserted. He ran to the castle.

* * *

**Avalon Castle**

"Yes, I suppose Orthros looks like his father" Gabriel said about the hatchling, trying hard not to laugh. Demona smiled wryly. He was red-skinned and had no wings at all. It was a pup, in fact. Angela tried to find a way to make things out.

"It happened that this was an orphan egg. There were four eggs who lost their clan, unfortunately, along with one of their rookery parents. They were all adopted by Goliath's clan," Angela explained. "It happened that… Arch must have told you why he had one of the eggs with him?"

"To protect him," Demona achieved. "Now I'd like to have it back."

"Isn't it too young to travel to Manhattan?" Isobel suggested.

Nobody noticed Arch, who was watching the scene through the half-open door. He didn't really like how things were going. Someone was probably going to blame him very soon, as if this was his fault! Well, at last, there was no sign of….

A hand swooped down on his shoulder. Surprised, he turned around to see Goliath glaring at him. He gulped and tried hard to find something to say. Surprisingly, the leader of the Manhattan clan put a finger on his lips and pulled him back from the door.

"You want to kill me?" the kid finally said.

"No. I would have had the right to blame you for kidnapping the egg were you still a member of my clan but it happens that just now, you depend on the Avalon clan."

The grey gargoyle smiled. "Good."

"I'm just going to tell your parents about what really happened."

"Hey!" Arch protested. "That is not fair! I… Demona manipulated me!"

"I wouldn't be surprised but this doesn't change the fact that you stole an egg away. You may not know it but among gargoyles this is considered as a major crime."

"Very well" Arch growled. "Take your egg back. I am not concerned! But if you really want me to be blamed, I can do anything for you! Just don't tell Katherine, she thinks I'm a hatchling!"

"Anything?" a feminine voice asked. Arch turned around and saw Angela glaring at him. He tried to laugh, embarrassed.

"Hello, Angie. Well, as long as it's not too humiliating…"

"DON'T call me Angie. Well, what about helping me convincing everyone that Demona must stay on Avalon?"

Goliath frowned. "On Avalon?"

"Yes. Well, just by deciding that Orthros needs to stay on the island and that it needs Demona to protect him… This way she would be watched on perman… Hide!" And she pushed her father into a room that was luckily empty. Someone was coming in the corridor.

Goliath waited until the footsteps were gone and then shook his head. "On Avalon? I don't want to endanger Katherine and Tom."

"How could she? Mortal magic is forbidden here. And she wouldn't dare attacking them by other means because the eggs would know it, sooner or later. She would have to stay and she wouldn't be a threat to the world here!"

"Your siblings would keep watch on her by night, yes," the lavender gargoyle objected. "But she is awake by day and even in her human form, I'm afraid she could try to harm the princess and the guardian."

"I may ask some fey to keep watch on her by day," Arch suggested. "I'm sure some would do it."

"And it would mean leaving the egg here," Goliath said to Angela. She looked at the floor, embarrassed.

"Well… yes. It would mean one less egg in Manhattan. But the pup is really tiny, I don't think travelling with him on the mists on Avalon would be safe. It would be less dangerous for him to wait here a bit…"

Goliath thought about. This was a risky strategy. He didn't like the idea of making his rookery children and their foster parents take such risks. But it could work, after all. "This is your punishment," he finally told Arch. "You will stay here and keep watch on Demona."

Arch tried to look ashamed. In fact, the irresponsible little boy he had always been was really looking forward to this new adventure. Showing the island to Demona would be probably cool and… well… maybe it would make him so busy that he would stop thinking of his weird dreams.

"We need to bring this pup back to the real world, daughter," Demona insisted. She hadn't even noticed that Angela had been gone for a few minutes. Her daughter protested.

"No! It wouldn't be safe for it just now. We'd better wait until it has grown up."

"Yes, and Boudicca and the other beasts were not able to travel until they were at least one-year-old." Katherine added.

"That makes 24 years in the outside world!" Demona stated, horrified.

"What's time for an immortal? Just stay here with it." Angela winked quickly at Gabriel, who understood immediately.

"I would like you to stay with us, too," he added while taking mental notice to ask his sister what was going on later.

"No, I can't!" She was thinking of what would happen of Nightstone Unlimited if she ever left the place for too long. Her previous experience, when she had been turned into 'Demie' had left her quite a bad memory. Moreover, it was obvious that Angela wanted her to stay on Avalon for other reasons. She, herself, had too much experience at manipulating people for not recognizing clumsy attempts at it. Why was Angela acting this way? To protect that Maza human? For once, in spite of her affection for her daughter, Demona was feeling a little contempt for her.

"At least for a few nights," Angela pleaded.

"Well…" And then the immortal gargoyle realised that she was on a place where some sorcerers would kill to be. All the secrets of magic were on this island and she would probably be able to get them in one way or another if she stayed. Could she let slip such an occasion? Later, she would come back to the real world with the pup, and maybe a magical way to take her revenge on humanity. She decided to pretend to taken in.

"Yes… if you insist."

Angela briefly smiled at Arch, who was half-hidden behind the door.

* * *

**The beach of Avalon**

"This is the craziest plan I have ever heard," Gabriel said while helping Goliath, Angela and Arch putting the skiff back to the see. "Are you sure this will work?"

"How couldn't it work?" Arch asked. The leader of the Avalon clan nodded. Like all his rookery siblings, he had been living away from the real world for all his life and had grown more naïve than a 'normal' gargoyle. However, his intuition was telling him that things were not going to be as easy as his rookery sister seemed to believe.

"We must go now," Goliath told Angela. "They mustn't know that I have been here." His daughter hugged her brothers good-bye and followed him reluctantly. She would have preferred to see her family a little longer but she knew it would spoil their plans.

"Vocate venti fortunate ex rege Oberonis et hic navis flugem regate ad orae Avalonis."

The skiff disappeared in the mists of Avalon. The travellers were gone, leaving Demona on the magical island.

_To be continued…_


	3. An instruction notice

Synopsis: Goliath and Angela have to start another world tour.

All the characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of NotreDame. I disregard The Goliath Chronicles as invalid in the continuity.

Any kind of feedback is welcome and much appreciated. Thank you very much to everyone who wrote to me, especially to Samuel B. for his beta-reading.

_An instruction notice_

_Previously, on Gargoyles: _

_Guardian Tom:_ "The mists of Avalon don't send you where you want to go; they send you where you need to be!"

"Avalon, part 3"

_Brooklyn: _From now on, I'll just, you know, back up.

_Maya_: It would be better, yes.

"Only a crush"

* * *

**A skiff, somewhere in the sea**

The mists of Avalon were going thinner. In a few seconds, the leader of the Manhattan clan and his daughter would see where they were going again. For now, all that Goliath could make out was his daughter's back, just in front of him. She was humming and he realised that she sounded happy. Happy to have seen her family again, happy to have left her mother in what she believed to be a perfect situation. He couldn't help thinking that she was still nearly as naïve as when he had first met her. It was touching but at the same time, it made him uneasy.

So Demona was on Avalon just now, and maybe for some time. She was still bitter and dangerous but she was on Avalon. By night, she would be watched on by the eggs, whose fighting skills were still far from being satisfactory the last time he had seen them. By day, she would be alone with the fey, the Guardian and Princess Katherine. No, most fey wouldn't probably be interested in keeping watch on her, so she would be alone with the humans who had raised their children. And Princess Katherine had been awful to her when she was young, and Demona had never forgotten. And a frail human in her early sixties would be no match against an angry and determined gargoyle…

"We have been making a serious mistake, Angela", the lavender gargoyle said aloud.

His daughter turned her head and frowned at him, puzzled. "I don't… look!" she said excitedly, gesturing at a building that was outlined in the mist. "The shore!"

The building looked like some houses they had seen in Ishimura. It seemed that they were in Japan again. They reached the shore and noticed a man who was eating a sandwich, sitting on a stone. He saw them, froze and then he run at them. "Hey! Goliath!"

"Do we know each other?" the lavender gargoyle asked, surprised.

"Why? It's me, Vinnie!"

Goliath frowned. The browned-hair man carried on. "Vinnie Gregar… Grigori, I changed my name. I met one of your gargoyles in Manhattan, he crashed my motorbike. And then we met in the flying fortress the night it crashed, too. And I met your detective friend the night I lost my job. Then I hit you with a vanilla cream pie."

"Banana" Goliath corrected. He was starting to remember the pie, but not the man. Vinnie carried on.

"Yes, banana! It's my sister who made it, I never told her what I intended to do with it, in fact. She's a great cook. And then I saved your life before coming to Japan. I hope you were able to manage without me. I came back to Manhattan for a while, my sister had been turned into a child."

"I think I've met her", Angela said. "Wasn't her name Valeria?"

"Yes! You know her? Oh, it's great to meet some friends of Valeria here. I'm a bit homesick sometimes."

"Did she recover from her… disease?"

"Yes! She found a new job in New Jersey, with a better boss. Are you close friends? And I'm sorry I didn't ask you, what's your name?" he asked.

"Angela. Well, I met your sister only once and I don't think she remembers…"

Goliath interrupted them. "I don't want to be rude but we are not here for a very long time…"

"Of course, you need a place to sleep!" Vinnie said happily. "Don't worry, it's a protected place here, nobody would attack a gargoyle. Follow me!"

"Why do you think Avalon sent us to this place?" Angela whispered while they were following the euphoric Vinnie.

Goliath didn't know what to answer.

* * *

**Castle Wyvern, atop the Eyrie Building**

Brooklyn didn't like the way things were going. So Goliath had just left for an indeterminate time, leaving him in charge. He had the feeling things were going back the way they were during the world tour. The clan was gathered in a room, and he had the feeling they were looking at him as if they expected him to bring Goliath back magically. "Is it all that happened?" he asked a very nervous Maya again.

"Yes. I'm sorry, I…"

"STOP APOLOGIZING!"

An egg started crying in the next room. The Mayan gargess bit her lip and walked back to the door. He held her back and saw that she was on the verge of tears. "OK", he said. "I shouldn't have shouted at you. Err…"

"The egg…" she protested, gesturing at the door.

"I'll do that", Lexington said, leaving the room. Broadway and Hudson followed him. They didn't need to be there to lull a crying baby but these two ones obviously needed to be left alone for a little time.

Maya felt grateful to them for leaving. She pretended to look through the window. "I'm sorry", she said again, thinking of her meeting with Demona. "I know I should have held her back."

"No. She was armed. And…" He tried to find a tactful way to say that her fighting skills were really far from matching the immortal gargoyle's. "Fair play's not her thing."

"I know." She tried to change the subject. "Do you really thing our egg is on Avalon?"

"Don't know."

"She may try to steal it again."

There was resentment in her voice. He tried to find a way to reassure her. "I don't think she…" But he couldn't find arguments, or anything that could make her feel better. However, she seemed to guess his intentions.

"Thank you", she said.

"Not at all."

"You know, I wish I would have done more, I'm sorry…"

"Maya, if you say you're sorry once more, I'll really make you very sorry!"

She laughed and he took mental notice to use humour again in this kind of situation.

* * *

In the other room, Hudson heard them laugh. Apparently, their little brush hadn't lasted very long. These two ones were an improbable couple but they could still end up together. He couldn't help thinking it would be a good thing for their nearly extinguished species. Yes, the next breeding period would be in ten years, things could change, they could meet other clans, have other gargoyles join them. But you never knew what could happen in the future and one more couple meant two more eggs in the future, and it couldn't hurt. 

Goliath's mentor realized he was thinking a way he didn't like. Pairing two sensitive beings because it was a "sensible thing to do", as if they were horses or pedigree dogs! He would have never considered doing such a thing one thousand years before. Everyone used to choose their mates out of love, not out of necessity. It was a better way but things seemed to have changed.

However, they could still choose each other, you never knew. But there was an important age difference between them, the lass had already been mated once, sometimes it seemed their personalities were too different… They could just remain "good friends", after all.

_It's their business, not mine. I don't have to interfere in any way._

* * *

**A courtyard of Avalon Castle**

Gabriel and Arch had a look at the list of names they had made earlier. Most were crossed out. They and a couple of their rookery siblings had been spending the last hour talking to fey separately, asking them if they could keep watch on Demona by day. None of them were remotely interested. Gabriel was starting to feel really worried. What would happen if their plan didn't work, after all?

Then he saw Ophelia walking to him, beaming. "I found somebody" she said. "Do you see who Persephone is?"

"The tall one who ate all the cake at our mating ceremony?"

"Yes! That's the point. She still remembers that apple cake, too, and she will help us if we make her some more."

Gabriel sighed with relief and then thought it would still be a constraint. "Do you remember who cooked it?" he asked.

"William, I think, or maybe Isobel. I'll ask the two of them. You know, I don't really like the idea of implicating them in that story."

"Neither do I. But do we have a choice?"

Arch had remained silent up to that moment. He tried to go away discreetly but his siblings noticed his move. "Where do you think you're going?" the leader of the Avalon clan asked.

"Well, as the problem is solved, you don't need me anymore."

"The problem is not solved. We could do with a couple of more fey to help us: Persephone could get tired of this."

"And do you think that apple cake is going to cook by itself?" Ophelia asked maliciously.

"You know I'm such a bad cook!" Arch protested.

"You are. But you are quite good at milking the cows, collecting the eggs in the henhouse, taking honey in the beehives…"

Arch put a wry face. He had become used to take processed food in the fridge and the idea of going back to medieval methods was not very appealing to him. "Perhaps we could just send her back to where she comes from", he suggested.

"And perhaps you could just take on your responsibilities, for once" Gabriel retorted.

"Of course, Mr Perfect Boy! You've never done anything wrong in your own life, and…"

"Shut up!"

Gabriel was quite a patient person but Arch was really going on his nerves. Fortunately, Ophelia interrupted him before things were going too far. "She's coming!" she said. Indeed, Demona was entering the courtyard, followed by Isobel. Gabriel and Ophelia exchanged a look and Othello's son whispered something to his siblings. Next second, Arch forced himself to smile and walked to the immortal gargoyle.

"Oh, I see you already met Isobel, I'm sure you are going to get on very well."

"Certainly", Demona said coldly. "She told me about a place, you know, maybe you could show it to me…"

"Of course! Let's go together! We'll be back soon!" he said before leaving with the immortal gargoyle.

"Maybe one of us should go with them", Ophelia suggested. "I don't like the idea of leaving them alone."

"If he wants to be treated like a grown-up, he'll be treated like a grown-up", Gabriel said firmly. "He can manage without us."

"I know it's not a nice thing to say but I'm not sure I really like this lady", Isobel said. "There's something about her…"

"Yes. We may have problems with her. Could you help us?" Gabriel asked her.

"Of course! What should I do?"

"Was it you who made the apple cake at our ceremony?"

* * *

**Vinnie Grigori's apartment, Japan**

"Here we are! Have a sit!" Vinnie said. "I'm afraid my home is not very tidy, I didn't know I was going to have a visit. I'm going to get you drinks."

"Angela" Goliath said when Vinnie had left the room, humming, "we need to go back to Avalon as soon as possible."

"We will, anyway" Angela agreed, looking around her. The room was untidy, indeed. It was decorated with a mix of Japanese and American furniture and several cartoons posters were stuck on the walls. "But… see, this man has a phone. We could make a phone call and tell our clan that Orthros, I mean, the egg is safe in Avalon."

Vinnie came back into the room with a tray loaded with various drinks. "I'm afraid I don't have many things" he said. "I…"

"Could we please make a collect call?" Angela asked.

"Of course! Err, I'm afraid it must be day time in Manhattan just now."

Father and daughter exchanged a look. "We'll phone Elisa", Goliath decided. "She'll tell everyone else when they are awake.

The dial tone was heard several times. At last the lavender gargoyle heard a click and a familiar voice. "Hello?"

"Elisa? It's me, Goliath!"

8000 kilometers away, something fell on the floor. Goliath could make out a meowing: Cagney had probably been frightened by something. "What?" Elisa shouted.

"I and Angela are in Japan now, with a friend." (Vinnie puffed himself up). "We are trying to go back home as soon as possible."

"Demona? And the egg?"

"Tell the clan the egg is hatched and safe in Avalon."

"It's true? Boy or girl?"

"Beast. A perfectly healthy male beast."

"And Demona?"

"She's safe, too."

It was half a lie. Goliath knew he could hardly control anything about Demona's situation but explaining Elisa everything in these circumstances was definitely not easy. She didn't sound convinced.

"I'll tell Xanatos, he'll send you a plane or something", Elisa said.

Then Vinnie saw something he had been used to watch for weeks. Goliath froze in a middle of a sentence and his skin and clothes turned grey. He laughed because the gargoyle was bearing a funny expression and then thought it was not funny, after all. His phone was stuck in the gargoyle's hand. Sighing, the former Quarryman took a chair and stood on it to be able to talk in the phone. "Hello? Miss Elisa?"

"Goliath?"

"No, it's me, your friend Vinnie. I saved your life, do you remember?"

Elisa tried to remember. Vinnie?!! Yes, several years earlier, she used to know a man called Vincent Smith. They were working in the same precinct but they had never been exactly friends and he had never saved her life. "Well…" she said.

"Your two gargoyle friends are all right! They are in my home, in their stone forms, of course."

"Who are you?"

"Vinnie Grigori. I prevented Castaway from killing Goliath. I owed him that: I had possibly traumatised him with a banana cream pie."

"OK" Elisa retorted, remembering the Quarryman who had helped them once and wondering if this was a joke or not. "So you are in Japan?"

"Yes"

"Where?"

"Oh, I bet the name Ishimura won't ring any bell to you. Well, I'll have to go to work soon but your friends are safe in my home. I guess they'll phone you again when they are awake."

"Wait…" Elisa shouted but it was too late: Vinnie had already hung up. More precisely, he hadn't hung up as the phone was still in Goliath's hands. He was standing next to the gargoyle, wondering how he was going to put the phone back in place without breaking Goliath's fingers. Finally, he disconnected it and headed to the bathroom.

* * *

**Castle Wyvern, atop the Eyrie Building**

The gargoyles had just broken out of their stone shells. Out of reflex, Brooklyn glanced back at the place where Goliath used to be. Of course he couldn't have come back. The red gargoyle exchanged a look with Hudson. He knew what this look meant. _Ye are not going to make him come back by staring at this place, lad, and anyway, we both know ye are able te do what ye have te do._ Brooklyn knew it was true. He followed the others into the courtyard, where Bronx, Lex and Maya were already checking that the eggs were all right. Broadway was the last one to join them. The fact that his mate was currently away and there was no way to know if she was all right was worrying him, too.

Then Elisa joined them, panting. "Hello" she said. "I had Goliath on the phone one hour ago. He and Angela had just left Avalon, they are in Japan, with a friend. The egg is safe and hatched. I'll…" She didn't have time to finish her sentence. Several pairs of leathery-skinned arms were hugging her, including Maya's, who was the first one to be surprised by her own reaction. Even Bronx seemed to have guessed the meaning of her speech and was barking happily. Finally, the raven-haired detective managed to finish her sentence. "I'll phone them again as soon as possible, when they are awake, and we'll organise their travel back."

"Is the egg all right?" someone asked.

"Yes. I was told it was a male beast. I was told he was… going to stay on Avalon for a while."

Elisa noticed that Maya was crying silently. For one moment, she wondered if she was not sad or angry at the idea that one of the eggs she had been watching on for years was escaping her again. But no, it was tears of happiness; she was just relieved to know that the egg was in a safe place at last. Broadway winked at his red brother. This wink meant "_she's happy just now, so take advantage of the situation and tell her something_." The red gargoyle took his courage in both hands, stepped to his adopted sister, realised he didn't know what to tell her in front of everyone, hesitated and turned to Elisa. "Thanks very much. Did they tell you what they did to Demona?"

"They left her on Avalon, apparently."

Everyone became silent again, except the eggs. Embarrassed, Elisa tried to explain herself away. "That's all that I know. I'll phone them again when they are awake and we'll know more about it."

"In Japan?" Brooklyn asked. "Were they in Ishimura again?"

"I hope so. That would make things easier for us…"

* * *

**Avalon**

"This is the place where we all learnt how to glide when we were hatchlings" Arch said.

Demona looked around at the beach and the rocks. She could easily imagine the kids running and jumping around, trying to catch updrafts, bumping into each other, like all young gargoyles do when they are learning. Once again, she couldn't help feeling envious: those humans had seen the hatchlings' first glides, she hadn't. Arch didn't really like the way she was looking around. "So, we go home, now?" he suggested.

"Not yet."

Obviously, things were still not perfect for her. Arch was still an annoying brat and most of the "eggs" (what a ridiculous nickname!) obviously didn't trust her yet. But she thought she would probably luckier with some of them. Maybe she would be able to turn them into allies.

And maybe she would feel less alone with them.

She forced herself to think of something else. No, she didn't need friends or company! All that she wanted was to reach her goal, the destruction of all humans. She just needed power and time. And maybe a little revenge…

"Leave me alone" she said to him.

"No. we're supposed to come back to the castle together."

"We're _supposed_ to come back together?" She laughed. "So you are supposed to watch everything I'm doing?"

He blushed. "Not everything."

"Come here", she commanded, patting the place next to the one where she was sitting. He hesitated and then joined her. They both watched the sea and listened to the sound of the waves. Arch was starting to think that she was not that crazy, after all.

"I heard you attended two mating ceremonies recently. How were they?" she asked point-blank.

"Well… it was fun" he answered randomly.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

Arch hated when he was asked this kind of question. Generally, they were followed by "_you_ _know, Mary Angela really likes you, maybe you could try_…" and he didn't want to _try_ anything. Moreover, he had the feeling Demona was suggesting something incestuous to him. "No, and I don't want a _girlfriend_" he retorted.

"I was not the romantic type, either", she remembered. "Then everything changed."

He laughed. "I know the old tale! You decide to get mated, you put flowers in your hair, you exchange vows with some guy and you're another person! Silly."

"No, everything changed with my first egg."

Demona was surprised by her own assertion. The eggs were supposed to belong to the whole clan, she knew it, and from the moment hers had joined the other ones in the rookery, she knew all those eggs were her children and that she would always protect them equally. But she had felt otherwise during her six months of pregnancy. For the first time in her life, a fragile living being had entirely depended on her, night and day. Even Goliath, who loved her and who had conceived that egg with her, had been unable to even imagine how close this connection had been.

"OK" Arch said, not interested. "Well, I think we had been contemplating this beach long enough. It's time to go back to the castle."

"Arch, when I told you to steal that egg, what were you thinking of?"

"What?"

"What were you thinking of? Did you care about the egg or did you just want to make a rebellious act?"

The grey gargoyle frowned. "Hey, you're telling me about something that happened months ago! It's the past, I forgot everything!"

"Pity. I never forget anything. Not even things that happened to me centuries ago."

Demona was a person full of contradictions. She could forget a crime, bear a grudge for a trifle and blame someone else for something she was responsible for. Just now, she knew something was not all right. _Eggs had been stolen, happiness had been stolen…_ She had to blame somebody. And this somebody couldn't be her.

"You've been stealing this egg from his rightful guardian?"

"Yes, like you told…"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence. A blow made him fly two meters away. Astonished, the grey gargoyle breathed heavily. "Hey, what's wrong with you?" he shouted.

She slapped her hand on his mouth. "You're not going to shout for help. What would they say about you if you did? Katherine would still think of you as the little baby who cannot do a single thing alone."

She had found the right argument. Arch nodded and she took her hand away. "What do you want?" he asked.

"Me? I want you to help me."

"How?!!"

"I don't know yet. But I'll find out soon enough."

_Why did I trust her in the first place?_ "OK. OK. So we go back to the…"

Another blow made him shut up.

Arch didn't come back to the castle that morning. He turned to stone on the beach and awakened twelve hours later, all injuries healed and his pride very damaged. He never dared telling anybody what had happened to him. He had the strange feeling that he had deserved some kind of a punishment but he just couldn't tell why. Anyway, he had other problems.

He felt surprised the following days, when Demona seemed to have forgotten about that "incident". Apparently, she really wanted to forget about the outside world for a little time. Maybe she would change her mind later, you never knew with her. Maybe one day, the old Demona would be back…

* * *

**Vinnie's home, Japan**

Goliath and Angela burst out of their stone shells and remembered where they were. Mr Grigori was nowhere to be seen. Father and daughter exchanged a look. "Maybe he's still at his job", Angela suggested.

Then they heard a hum. Someone was singing out-of-tune, somewhere in the apartment. Angela decided to have a look. Then she heard something more worrying. Someone was sobbing.

"Mr Grigori?" she asked.

A few seconds passed. Then they heard Vinnie shouting in the bathroom. "HELP! Please! The lock got blocked, I am stuck in my own bathroom! Help!"

"You want us to break the door open?" Angela asked.

"Yes, please! I stayed in this room the whole day with no neighbours to call, nothing to eat and nothing to do!"

Angela pushed the door, which broke open, and Vinnie went out, looking tired and wearing an old bathrobe with a Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck pattern. "Thanks very much. Sorry about the outfit. Help yourself to the fridge, I'll come back in a minute, time to get dressed."

Quite surprised, Goliath and Angela helped themselves. They had breakfast with Vinnie and asked him if there were problems or anything special in this place. Vinnie seemed quite surprised by these questions: nothing ever happened to him here.

The phone rang just when Angela whispered to his father: "Maybe Avalon sent us to this place to free this man from his own bathroom."

"It's for you" Vinnie said, holding the phone out to Goliath. "Elisa again."

Elisa had been talking to Xanatos. Apparently, they could send a private plane for them to come back. Angela insisted for Goliath to accept and he finally gave up.

Vinnie phoned his employers, apologized for having skipped his working day and managed to rent a small van. The following night, he drove the gargoyles to a private airport where they took a plane to Manhattan.

* * *

**A rooftop in Manhattan**

Brooklyn was watching a street but his thoughts were somewhere else. One hour earlier, he had had to decide who was patrolling with whom, and for once, he didn't like doing that. One year earlier, he would have probably monopolized the only available girl. Now he had the feeling she wouldn't like it and he had decided otherwise: the girls together, him with Broadway, Hudson with Bronx and Lex at home.

Broadway was a good patrol partner but tonight, he didn't seem in the mood for working. "You look as if you don't like her" he said suddenly.

"What?"

"Maya. It's the third night in a row you don't patrol with her, you hardly talk to her the rest of the time, she may start imagining things."

The red gargoyle sighed. "She may imagine _what_? If I talk to this girl, it's not the thing to do. If I don't talk to her, it's not the thing to do either. I wish there was an instructions leaflet for girls."

"She likes you."

"And?"

"She likes you. You don't think it's a good thing?"

The beaked gargoyle glared at his brother. He couldn't help envying him for having got mated long before him and the fact Broadway was acting as if dating was an easy thing for everyone was driving him mad. The aqua gargoyle guessed what he was thinking. "I'm hungry," he said quickly. "I'm getting some Chinese, do you want some?"

"No, thanks."

Broadway glided away while his brother was wondering how he could always find food that easily. Maybe he was entering restaurants by the back door when no one was looking but how could he always go unnoticed? One moment passed and then he heard a voice behind him. "Err… Second?"

It was Maya. He realised he had never heard her saying his name. She blushed when he looked at her and carried on. "Broadway told me you wanted to talk to me."

Brooklyn frowned. "What? I didn't…" He didn't have to say more: they had both understood that it was a trick from him.

"Yes. Well…" She tried hard to find something to say. The beaked gargoyle was both cursing and thanking his rookery brother inwardly.

"OK. It's a joke from him. He'll be back soon" he said randomly.

"I don't think so. I mean, Angela and him looked as if they wanted to be left alone together for a little time."

"Oh…" _What am I supposed to say?_ _Where IS this instruction leaflet for women?_ "So, they play trick on us to have time together."

"I… don't blame them", she said hesitantly. "I mean, it's not really a mean thing to do, and I understand they want privacy. But if you mind my presence…"

"Not at all! Come, let's finish the patrol together. I'll settle the matter with them later."

She nodded and followed him. The rest of the patrol was uneventful. They hardly talked to each other. Finally, they landed on another rooftop to have a rest before gliding back home.

"Beautiful night" Brooklyn said, and regretted it immediately. _Beautiful night? I am alone with her and all that_ _I can say is_ beautiful night? _What am I doing?_

"Yes." _He wants to tell me something else. He doesn't, for one reason or another. I should help him. How? WHY do I have to be so shy? Anybody else would do something. If he likes me, like Angela told me, I don't understand what he sees in me._

"So let's get back", he finally said.

But he didn't move from his place, and neither did she. They both pretended to admire the landscape, and it was definitely not the most beautiful sight you could see in Manhattan. Maya finally managed to say something.

"I miss the starlight sometimes." _Bad idea. I already told him so once, he'll think I'm drivelling on_.

"So do I." _No, I never think of the stars. I'm lying to fill gaps in a conversation, this is getting crazy. Maybe a normal guy would have taken her hand. It is only five inches away from mine. Taking her hand… It's nothing, nothing, I'm not afraid of riding a motorbike or fighting the Pack so why should I be afraid of that? She may react… I'll never know how she would react if I don't try. I must try._

One minute passed. They hardly looked at each other. However, they were both thinking so loud that a telepath would have run away from this place, completely deafened. After a long moment, their fingers touched. They exchanged a very brief look. She quickly looked at the lack of stars but she didn't take her hand away. He took it as an invitation. His fingers moved closer, closer, until they covered hers. They exchanged a look again…


	4. An old book

Goliath and Angela flee, find themselves in Japan

Synopsis: Dominique Destine seems to have forgotten an old book in Paris. Meanwhile, on Avalon, the eggs have to deal with another problem.

All the characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of NotreDame. I disregard The Goliath Chronicles as invalid in the continuity.

Any kind of feedback is welcome and much appreciated. Thank you very much to everyone who wrote to me, especially to Samuel and Anyjen for their help.

_An old book_

_Previously, on Gargoyles: _

_Angela: _"What's time for an immortal? Just stay here with (the egg)."

"Help me, daughter"

_Goliath:_ "As you know, I have been considering a second-in-command. I've had a choice in mind for weeks but I was concerned that to reveal it would drive a wedge between you. But you have each proven yourself to be worthy warriors. And most importantly, an excellent fignthing team. I know see what I should've seen all along. That nothing could divide you.

Brooklyn, my friend. Leadership is a heavy burden."

_Brooklyn_: "Me?"

_Hudson_: "Congratulations, lad."

_Lex_: "That goes double for me."

_Broadway_: "Hey, you deserve it, buddy."

"Upgrade"

**Paris, France**

The news that Dominique « Démoniaque » Destine had disappeared had reached the French branch of Nightstone Unlimited. Everyone reacted like French people generally do when they have to cope with something unexpected at work: they all went on strike. The transportation workers also went on strike out of solidarity. It lasted three weeks, then they all realised that they were not going anywhere and went back to work. That's French system for you.

It happened that the employees Ms Destine had hired to clean her house soon realised that even though they were still paid, "Démoniaque" was not around any more. Curiosity took them over and they started exploring the house. They were hoping to discover compromising items, like photos or letters about lovers or illegitimate children but all that they could find was weird objects that looked like they hadn't been touched for centuries, including a very old and tattered book.

"English", Consuelo stated while leafing through it. "What does it say?"

Lucie took the book in her hands, tried to read it and frowned. "It's not English. It looks a bit like it, but… why, I wish my son could have a look at it. What's this picture?"

"It looks like a woman with a baby."

They had a better look. The pencilled drawing was indeed of a long-haired woman in a medieval dress. Although the picture was old, the face was beautifully drawn, with a serene expression, half-closed eyes and parted lips, as if she was singing a lullaby. However, there was one disturbing detail: the baby on her lap didn't look normal. In fact, with his horns and his bat-like wings, he looked more like a biblical demon than like a child, and yet he was hugging the woman in a way that would have made any mother smile.

"Who would draw such a thing?" Consuelo asked. "That's…"

"Katherine, with Gabriel", Lucie read. "_Katherine, avec Gabriel_."

"I would have guessed. No, I would have never guessed. That's a blasphemy. The person who made this must be crazy!"

Lucie nodded, thought about and closed the book. "I think there's a copy machine downstairs", she said. "I'll show Corentin some copies of this, he'll tell me what this really means."

"Lucie, your son is a _lettres classiques_ student, not an exorcist."

"We don't need an exorcist."

"That Destine woman is a demon!"

"She surely makes me think of one", Lucie said thoughtfully. "But I want to know what these passages mean. I have to work for her for a tiny salary and I also have to put up with her tantrums when she's around, so I think I can afford a few copies. She'll never find out, after all."

Consuelo had to give in. Ten minutes later, her colleague was coming back with a dozen sheets of paper, all covered in weird sentences. Next day, young Corentin Gonton discovered a "surprise" from his mom.

**Avalon**

Isobel used to enjoy cooking, but that was before her siblings told her they needed to use apple cake as a bait to make a fey keep watch on Demona by day. Now she was realising how making a simple dish could be challenging: if she was cooking something for her fellow eggs or her rookery parents, they didn't mind if it was slightly burnt or too sugary. At the worst, they would tease her, and that was all. However, nobody knew how an angry fey could react.

Add the cinnamon at the last moment… where was the cinnamon? And where was the sugar? The oven was hot enough so all that she needed was that damn spice. She finally found a jar and opened it so fast that it slipped from her hands and broke on the floor.

She sat down and started crying. Why was everything going wrong?

"I think there's another jar on the last shelf, child", a soft voice said behind her back. Isobel turned back and saw a small, silver-haired fey with a very kind face. She nodded, got up cautiously and looked at the shelf. Indeed, they had some more cinnamon left.

"Thank you, My Lady", she said.

"Please, call me Grandmother."

"Thank you, Grandmother. Do you need the kitchen?"

"Not at all."

Isobel frowned. Cohabitating with children of Oberon had been the most challenging thing she had ever experienced. You never knew what they had on their minds: some were always trying to play tricks on you and some were completely unpredictable. She knew Princess Katherine had already more or less befriended this "_Grandmother_" and it was a good reason for trusting her, but on the other hand, some fey were shapeshifters and one of them could have made itself look like the silver-haired fey.

So maybe someone was playing a trick on her just now.

She opened the jar uneasily. It did smell like cinnamon. But where was the sugar? And did she need honey or brown sugar? William had made a note for her but his handwriting resembled a pig's so she couldn't read it. Plus the oven was probably too hot, already. She spread cinnamon on the apples hurriedly, added too much honey and practically ran to the oven.

A wild shout was heard throughout the castle. In the kitchen, Isobel was sucking at her burnt fingers, tears running down her face. Immediately, Grandmother took her big, clawed hand in hers and smiled empathically. "It must hurt, child."

"No. Nothing a good sleep won't cure. Why are you staying and watching me?"

"I was wondering how you would react if I suggested that I heal those burnt fingers", she explained.

"You? But… why?"

"My pleasure. I used to teach my grandson how to use herbs and roots when I was living among humans, and I miss it. Do you mind if I have a try?"

A _sympathetic_ fey?! This was completely impossible. Isobel stuttered something and Grandmother took it as a positive answers. She took some herbs in a jar and improvised a bandage. Then she closed the door of the oven, checked that it was not too hot, said "I used to enjoy cooking, too" and left the room. Isobel stared at the door stupidly.

Then Ophelia entered the room. "I heard you shouting, sister. Is there a problem?"

Isobel laughed nervously. "No. But I really think you're going to need a better cook."

**Castle Wyvern, the courtyard**

"So, what happened?" Lexington asked excitedly. His beaked brother shrugged. Lex took it as bad news. "She turned you down?"

"You know, Lex, sometimes I envy you for being gay."

"Being gay is not that great", Lex protested. "You're not always… Sorry it didn't work with her."

"It worked."

Brooklyn's voice was so sad that his green brother frowned, puzzled. "You mean she wants something more serious with you?"

"Seemed like it. She didn't turn me down, yeah. We didn't talk very much, either. Nothing happened, we held hands and… nothing else."

Lexington beamed. "You held hands? From such a shy person, it does mean something!"

"Yeah, I know."

"And?"

"And what? Gargoyles mate for life and she was already mated once. So…"

"So you want to propose to her at once?" Lex asked, quite annoyed. He had the feeling that the bad part of being gay was the impossibility to get officially mated and he couldn't understand why his brother seemed to want to refuse that chance. "I don't get it: you're not afraid of Demona or the Pack or Thailog, and you back away from someone who wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"I'm NOT afraid of her!"

"Then prove it."

The beaked gargoyle tried to find something to retort. "We should already be on patrol", he finally said. Then he turned to Hudson and Broadway, who had just entered the room.

"Goliath and Angela will be back in two days" the aqua gargoyle announced.

"Good news" Brooklyn said. He was relieved by this change of subject and even though he was proud of being the second of the clan, he preferred it when Goliath was in charge.

"Lad, there's something I'd like to tell you alone", Hudson said. The beaked gargoyle nodded and followed him into another room. The brown gargoyle closed the door and looked at him seriously. "Ye should choose a second-in-command yourself."

Brooklyn was quite shocked. Goliath was the leader of the clan and he was expecting it to remain this way as long as possible. Choosing a second himself looked like a lack of respect. "I can't do that" he said.

"Ye have to, lad. Something may happen to you when Goliath is away."

"Then you'll lead the clan!"

"Ye know that's not the gargoyle ways."

The beaked gargoyle thought about that for a few moments. Hudson seemed to be right. Brooklyn sent nearly everyone on patrol and decided to go alone. Having to make this choice made him uneasy. Goliath had had to choose between him and his rookery brothers and it had made no problems because the Trio's friendship could resist anything but Angela and Maya were two unknown elements. Brooklyn started hoping Goliath could come back home earlier.

**Avalon**

"What kind of apples did William use?" Isobel asked suddenly. The cake was nearly ready and she was realizing it didn't smell exactly like William's cake normally did, or maybe it was just her imagination.

"Do we have several varieties of apples on Avalon?" Ophelia asked.

"Of course! There are the red, juicy ones, the green-yellow and slightly sour ones, the smaller, yellowish red ones…"

"So we'll have to ask Arch, I think he's the one who chose and peeled the fruits."

Isobel started feeling worried. "Do you think I prepared the cake wrong?" she asked. "If Persephone doesn't like it, anything may happen…"

"No, it smells really good", Ophelia said. "Anyway, it's too late to make another one."

A rookery brother entered the kitchen. "I'll need the place to prepare dinner, sisters", he said. "Have you finished?"

"Yes…" Isobel checked that the cake had cooled enough, sliced it and put it on a plate. Then her and her sister started praying for Persephone to like every kind of apples.

In the distance, Demona had heard Isobel's shout of pain. She had a very characteristic voice: it sounded exactly like one of her dead rookery sisters'. So it seemed that something of humans had been rubbing off on the immortal gargoyle throughout the centuries: when she was young, she would have never dared to look for biological parentage in a clan.

Damn humans! The rookery children she had met were acting just like them. One of them had told her she looked just like his sister Angela, another was using words like baby, child or sleeping instead of egg, hatchling and roosting. How ridiculous! She was trying to re-educate some of them when those humans were not around. But she just had to act discreetly. If she wanted to discover the secrets of Avalon, she had to melt into the background and pretend to be harmless.

Discretion was not her strong point. Hiding to hunt an animal was relatively easy to her but talking nicely to that human Princess Katherine and pretending to enjoy her company was one of the most difficult things she had ever experienced. Fighting Vikings or invaders had been way easier as she didn't have to hide her real nature. Every now and then she had to leave to hide her rage.

But her efforts were paying off: she had nearly befriended the rookery daughter Isobel. One day, she would be able to make her talk about Avalon's magical secrets, for sure. Isobel was kind and not stupid; she would probably tell her anything she needed to know.

And she looked so much like her best friend when she was young…

**Castle Wyvern**

"Have ye made a choice, lad?" Hudson asked at the end of the night.

Brooklyn sighed. "No, I'll need time."

"Aye, ye be not sure of anything?"

"I'm sure of one thing: Maya's out of the question. She's way too fragile for leading a clan and anyway, she's doing well with the eggs, so better keep her in charge of them."

Hudson nodded. Some leaders were tempted to automatically choose someone they liked as their second-in-command, whether they were fit for the role or not. Brooklyn was acting wisely. The red gargoyle carried on.

"I think we can eliminate Elisa too. She has qualities but she doesn't live with us all the time, which would make things difficult."

Hudson couldn't help thinking it was probably the first time ever a human was considered as a possible second for a gargoyles clan. The beaked gargoyle was right: although Elisa was clan, she couldn't become their leader. "Ye'll have te choose between the three remaining ones" he said.

"I'm not sure about Angela. She was a second-in-command in Avalon but Avalon is not New York City. I would be more positive if she knew the gargoyles ways better but, well, she's not the right person."

"This leaves you with either Broadway, or Lexington."

"They are both smart, in different ways. They're loyal, brave, trustworthy… Let me think about it again."

The red gargoyle didn't want to say how much he found it difficult to choose between his two brothers. He nearly had the feeling he would betray one if he chose the other. He left the castle and glided alone for a time to clear his ideas. Then he came back and found Hudson alone in front of the television. "I chose Broadway" he said reluctantly.

"Are ye sure, lad?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Aye, he doesn't have ter be your definite choice."

Brooklyn frowned. "That's not what you seemed to say earlier."

"I was testing ye, lad. You don't have te choose a second before ye are a leader yerself. I just wanted te see how ye would choose. Ye didn't disappoint me."

There was a spark of pride in the only healthy eye of the brown gargoyle. His rookery son stared at him, slightly angry for having been manipulated, and finally burst into laughter. "I should have guessed!" he said, relieved. "Are you going to tell everyone about this?"

"Maybe Goliath, not the other ones. This will be yer decision when yer time comes."

Brooklyn smiled. In fact, he was quite thankful to Hudson for having made him make this choice. This was a way his mentor had chosen to teach him something valuable. At least he knew he was ready to make choices one day.

**La Sorbonne, Paris, France**

Those pages were the most unusual things Corentin had ever seen. Although a lot of words were really difficult to read, he was able to identify at least three languages: old English, Gaelic and Latin. He was not an expert but this was so surprising that he decided to stay late in the library of the college to try to translate it.

He started with the sentences in Latin as there weren't too many of them. Apparently, the author's grammar was perfect but the sentences didn't make much sense. "Poison shall spread into your body and kill you before the sun comes again." "The poison shall leave your body and you shall feel as though you were never poisoned." "Thou shall lose all your hair" "Your hair shall grow back"…

Corentin was starting to feel uneasy. He himself didn't believe in magic or sorcery. But a friend of his had a friend who knew a girl who was said to be a witch, or something like that. Apparently, those pages had been written by someone who also believed to be a witch or a wizard. A clever, well-educated person.

Maybe that book belonged to a member of a sect. Corentin stretched his arms and yawned, realising he had been sitting for too long. Then he got up and looked for another dictionary. He was practically alone in the library and he could see through the windows that it was getting dark but he just wanted to carry on translating. His mind was buzzing and sometimes his sight was blurring as much as when he didn't have his glasses. After a few sentences, he had a looked at his work and felt completely lost.

"_The eggs are growing up so fast. They can all walk now, some have even started to talk. I wonder when they will take their first glide…_ That doesn't make sense!"

"Il est l'heure, jeune homme!"

The student jumped and realised the librarian was talking to him. "What?" he said.

"You'll finish your work tomorrow. Library's closing."

Corentin nodded and went to put the books back at their places. Tomorrow he would come back and he would decipher the mystery of Dominique Destine's book…

_To be continued…_

A.N. "Il est l'heure, jeune homme" is French for "It's time, young man."


End file.
